Kerwin Okoro at St. Raymonds High School in the Bronx. Photo: Philip Hall

In the last year, Kerwin Okoro lost his father Stanislaus and brother Idiongo in the span of two months, making The Bronx product want to come closer to home for college. The St. Raymond graduate settled on Rutgers following his freshman year at Iowa State, and was slated to be a key part of new coach Eddie Jordan’s program this winter.

The NCAA, however, is making him wait. They turned down the 6-foot-5 wing’s hardship transfer waiver request, a source confirmed, a head-scratching decision considering Okoro’s losses would seem to signify extreme hardship and less than many other student athletes have gone through who have been approved in recent years.

However, the hardship transfer rules says nothing about death in the family, only taking care of sick family members. The source said Rutgers is appealing the decision.

Rutgers declined comment and didn’t make Jordan or Okoro available for interview requests. The Scarlet Knights are also waiting to hear back from the NCAA on Pittsburgh transfer J.J. Moore, a sharpshooting 6-foot-6 forward, regarding his own hardship waiver based on an ill grandfather.

Okoro’s 72-year-old father, Stanislaus, died in December of a stroke. Then two months later, his 28-year-old brother, Idiongo, passed away from colon cancer. Okoro came back to be closer to his mother Eno and older brother Freddie, 26.

“I think it’s crazy,” Okoro’s AAU coach, Abdu-Allah Torrence, told The Post. “It was hard on the whole family. The biggest [reason for coming home] was being a support system for his mom.”

Because of the family tragedies, Okoro missed 14 games this past season to be back in New York with his family. He averaged only 3.6 minutes and just one point per game, although he did play in four of Iowa State’s final 11 games, including the NCAA tournament victory over Notre Dame. Okoro led St. Ray’s to a city title his senior year.

For the time being, Rutgers has only 11 eligible players. Prized recruit Junior Etou, a highly ranked forward from Bishop O’Connell High School in Virginia, has yet to be cleared by the NCAA.